aztb's 180g "all-built" thread

[aztbs]

My 180 gallon reef tank has been up and running for 2.5 years at the time of this thread starting. I have documentation of little pieces of it all over the place, but I have been asked enough for my "build thread" so I thought I would assemble one that is complete.
Forgive me for my long winded blabbing. I also have an over-abundance of pictures so this will take a while.

My story starts with my 55 gallon reef tank that was a mess!! In 1999, a local store sold me a 36" Custom Sea Life 2x96W pc fixture for a 48" tank. I was setting it up as a fowlr tank with the hope of going reef and it was going to be "everything I needed". I paid almost $500 for it! Ouch! I ran FO on and off until 2002 when I finally attempted soft corals. For about 2 years, I made every mistake that a new reefer could and did everything after-the-fact as I learned about how it all works. It could have been much worse, but the dream for the 180 room divider/peninsula tank was in the making. I was going to do this one right.

I have two major blessings to thank for this tank. First is my extra-skilled, DIY-master husband, Bill. Second is the reefcentral community, especially my local FRAG group.

So, all that blabbing aside.. let's start at the beginning! For what I paid, I nearly stole this 180 gallon tank ( I am pretty sure it is a Lee-Mar) that was pre-drilled, had the end overflow already installed. It is 72"x24"x24", fit perfectly in the room, and was setup just like I wanted. It was meant to be! This tank was 2yrs old and had never held water!!

So once I had the glass (I can't believe I have no pics of carrying the tank through the door), it was time for a stand!

...

 

[aztbs]

11/14/2005

I decided on steel stand because Bill had plenty of welding experience, I liked the clean, stable look of them and the easier access to equipment. So we start with a pile of steel:

Then a good amount of time prepping/cleaning steel:

Then Bill gets to welding:

What better way to keep all the sparks from hitting the truck on the driveway? :lol:

12/03/05

Finally done, front and back:

Now, I understand that this thing is WWWAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY overbuilt. That's how we like to do things. I still have dreams about leaks/floods, etc.
The steel plate in the front allowed for a nice wide OPEN area for me to access the sump, skimmer, and plumbing under the tank. This worked out very well over time!

 

[aztbs]

Bill is 6ft tall, it' perfect!

12/14/05

Merry Xmas to me!! It's back from the powder coaters!!

We cut a 1/2" piece of plywood and a 3/4" piece of styrofoam to go under the tank. The bottom glass of this tank is flush with the edges and sits on the floor. We hoped that the styrofoam would help cushion the tank and help with unlevel areas of the plywood/stand. I do not know if this is really necessary, but it makes me feel good.

And here is the tank and stand together for the first time. :love2:

 

[aztbs]

12/23/2005

Ready for the first "do I hold water?" test... OUTSIDE! This tank sat empty for a long time so I was nervous.

01/22/2006

The stand comes to its final resting place. Note the poor 55g in the background:

02/20/2006

You may be able to make out the drilling of the end wall in this picture. The overflow runs across this end of the tank, but behind the acrylic wall, it is actually divided in to three sections. The drain is in the middle. The two outer sections were setup for some kind of closed loop maybe? There were three hole in each and a couple of miscellaneous loc-line and baskets.

For now, I decided to stick in four powerheads, two on each side. Of the three holes, two would have the outputs for the powerheads and one would be a basket to help get water in to that compartment. The teeth at the top also allowed water to flow to the powerheads.
I used a durso standpipe. In order to prevent fish/snails/crabs etc, from getting to the sump, I drilled a whole bunch of holes in some PVC and then capped it to make a basket-like intake.

You may also be able to see in the above picture that the acrylic teeth cut in to the overflow wall just weren't cutting it when it came to flow-through. I busted all of the teeth out and replaced them with plastic gutter guard.

 

[aztbs]

I got a 60 gallon 48" tank from a LFS to use as my sump. In this pic, it does not have any baffles yet, but we were working on plumbing and needed it for testing. You can also see that we installed a thin piece of plywood for the stand to sit on to protect scratching up/denting our wood floor, and we have another piece cut for the sump to sit on to help keep the floor dry/undamaged.
The return pump is a Mag12.
Disregard the check valve on the return. This was a bad idea. It is useless because when the power fails, the sudden reverse of water flow makes the valve hammer up and down and all the water that is going to back flow makes it to the sump anyway. :mad2:

When you buy a secondhand tank that is predrilled to someone else's design, it is sometimes difficult to make the plumbing work to your own design. Here is my return from the sump. The pump pushes up through the hole in the bottom of the tank, splits and runs up each corner to output near the top of the tank. The other hole next to it has been capped and never used.

A peninsula tank offers many challenges. I really wanted all of the plumbing/electrical to be hidden and it all has to run down to the other end. Nothing can be outside of the three viewing sides of the tank. I chose to run the returns up the corner to get clean water to the opposite side as the overflow and to create more flow at the far end.

Time for another freshwater test to see if my plumbing skills were up to par.

 

[aztbs]

03/15/2006

We decided to build what we call "the bathtub" to hold the sump. It is just made of plywood, and is tall enough to be able to hold a pretty significant leak/spill from the tank or sump. This has been used plenty when the skimmer decides to overflow and spit water past the sump, or when I take pumps out for maintenance and spill the bit of water from the plumbing.
Here's Bill working on the bathtub. I know it looks like I didn't do any of the work, but really, it is just that I am taking all of the pictures. Really.

Once the bathtub is assembled, we used caulk to seal all the corners. I suppose we could have gotten carried away and used fiberglass/resin to really water seal this. But we caulked and then painted the whole thing with several coats of Kilz primer. It does hold water well enough for its purpose.

03/19/2006
Finally, I used the Handi-Foam black spray foam to cover my PVC returns and my overflow wall with a texture that could grow in to look more natural over time and make the plumbing less obvious. (and it really does!)

 

[PreacherMan607]

WOW! Looking good so far. I also used the black pond foam when i set up my 180. And after about a month it pulled away from the sides and back. Ever heard of it doing that before?

 

[aztbs]

04/01/2006

I call this the "fool's tank" because I am a fool and because it was filled with salt water for the first time on April 1st.

I used 150 pounds of SILICA PLAY SAND from Home Depot. *gasp* I simply couldn't bring myself to spend $200 or more on sand. We had been doing everything DIY and/or as inexpensively as possible. So, I read and read and read and read and decided to go for the play sand. The Southdown days were over and it was not available in my area.

So here is my overflow wall, under saltwater.

And here is a better look at the gutter guard and behind the overflow:

It was time to get some lights on!

I purchased a 6x80W T5 retrofit kit with 2 icecap 660 ballasts. My tank is 72" long and the bulbs are only 60" long, but once you take off the end overflow, it works out pretty well. I picked a variety of giesemann bulbs: 2 actinic, and 2 blue plus, 2 aquablue. This was way way too blue, so I traded the aquablues in for two sun 6500K. Over time I think I went with 2 actinic, 1 blue plus, 1 sun and 2 aquablue(11000K).

I decided to go with T5 after giving myself a pretty serious burn on a MH bulb on my 55g. Besides being cheaper for a tank this size, I just felt like I could get better coverage with less wattage. My 55 had 2x175W bulbs and I was tired of hot spots and shadows.
I also prefer the ability to dial in color with the number of bulbs I run. I like that the canopy does not have to be so tall. I like that you can turn the bulbs off and they come back on right away. The ballasts are so quiet compared to my magnetic MH ballasts and they are smaller. Those are my opinions, I don't want to talk about the detailed MH vs. T5 debates!!

To get the retrofit lights on the tank, we needed a canopy. I had lofty goals to complete skin the stand/canopy in a nice hardwood, but we weren't there yet, so we decided to build a "temporary" canopy. Never call anything temporary because it was on the tank for over 2yrs!!

Here we have framed a very simple box to sit on the tank. The end is open where it sits over the overflow.

 

[aztbs]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13449517#post13449517 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PreacherMan607
WOW! Looking good so far. I also used the black pond foam when i set up my 180. And after about a month it pulled away from the sides and back. Ever heard of it doing that before?

Thank you! The foam is ridiculously buoyant. There are a couple of tips to keep it attached.

1- Don't apply it too thick.
I really use it just for a thin texture because I do not like the look of coralline algae growing on a flt surface. It is also easier to glue frags on foam that on to glass. It doesn't need to have huge bumps or depth.

2- Make sure that the glass/acrylic is clean and dry before applying.
I used a little vinegar to prepare the surface and dried it really really well.

3- Work the foam while it dries!
As soon as the sticky mess has dried with a skin over it, start pushing on it. The foam continues to expand for some time, and air pockets inside can cause it to pull semi-cured areas away from the glass. Push the foam in to the glass repeatedly and squoosh out all of the bug air pockets and smash the foam into the tank wall really well. Keep your eye on things for about 30 minutes or so while the foam cures. If you have really thick places, it will expand for hours and the center won't dry that well.

I have never had foam pull away, but I have seen it happen. I also found that most urchins will eat into it while trying to graze on coralline algae.

 

[aztbs]

And we have light!

Here's the whole tank, and my doggie that wanted to be in the picture:

You can see in the sump, I have a small section where the drain comes down and I have a reverse-durso drain to keep it very quiet. Then there is a baffle to reduce bubbles.
Next is the chamber for the skimmer. I put on an old RedSea Berlin skimmer right away while I waited for the ASM G4-X skimmer to arrive in the mail.
Then it goes over/under/over with baffles to a section that will be the refugium. Then there is over/under/over with baffles to go to the return section.

 

[aztbs]

04/02/2006

Here we have a 28" gap between the tank and the wall where more equipment is going to go. On the other side of the wall, there is a bathroom sink.

So that means we have to cut a hole in it! This is another part where having a supportive and wonderful spouse makes all the difference! :lol

04/03/2006

We've built a stand/rack for all of the tank supporting equipment. This tall skinny chamber is my "fish room". :rollface:

I've added a couple chunks of live rock from the 55 as well as two black mollies. You can kind of see them in the tank in this picture below. The mollies ended up multiplying like mad, I had babies growing in the refugium for a while. As I started to add more fish, the mollies eventually disappeared. (eaten?)

The mollies were REALLY good algae grazers. They kept things in control as my tank went through a mild diatom phase. The down side is they somehow magically transform what they eat in to twice as much mass in poop! :fish1:

 

[aztbs]

04/08/2006

On this Saturday, we decided we were going to go to CA (from Phoenix,AZ) to get us some live rock. The prices at our local stores were just beyond the ability for my wallet to bear.

We left the house at 5AM and headed to Ocean Pro Aquatics. We helped pay for gas by picking up rock for a few other people while we were there. I hand picked all of my live rock and we dashed home. I got a great selection of Figi, Premium Tonga Branch, Marshall Island, and Kaelini rock in gorgeous shapes and giant pieces. Add up my gas money and lunch on the road and it all cost me about $4/lb total. Well worth the trip!

We made it back to the house around 6PM and I got aquascapin'. Look, I am in a picture!

Look, the mollies are hanging around in their newly remodeled home.

You can see here where we shoved styrofoam in to the spaces in the stand. It protected the sofa from salt spray and provided a little noise barrier. It worked great!

 

[aztbs]

Here's the shots of the rock and sand storm from both sides:

This is the view that I see when I am lying on the sofa:

Here's a shot from the short end:

 

[aztbs]

04/14/06

Time to do more work on the canopy. The lights needed some fans on them.

Here we have cut out six holes with a hole saw. I bought a pack of 6 CPU fans from Fry's Electronics store for $24.99. I also bought a power adapter to be able to wire them in.

There is one fan blowing right down each of the six bulbs:

For a few extra bucks, I got these foam filters and covers for the outside of the fans. They catch a ton of dust and dog hair and need to be rinsed out frequently, but I am sure glad that it isn't getting in to the tank.

Here's the newly-improved canopy on the tank:

 

[savethereef]

Welcome to the Penninsula Club. We have the same Dims on tanks. Can i see some more pictures of you plumbing?

 

[aztbs]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13450350#post13450350 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by savethereef
Welcome to the Penninsula Club. We have the same Dims on tanks. Can i see some more pictures of you plumbing?

Thanks. I don't think I could ever have a non-peninsula tank again. (Unless it was viewable 360deg) :lol:

I am not sure how many plumbing pics I have other than what is posted so far. I will see what I can find.

 

[aztbs]

04/20/2006

Now we started working on the "fish room". We installed a shelf at the half way point and divided the top section in half vertically. One side was going to have a frag/QT tank and the other side would be dedicated to all things electrical.

In this shot, you can make out the division:

Here we have put up the frag tank, a 20gallon-high. It has a U-shaped tube that keeps a siphon between it and the larger tank. A small powerhead pushes water to the large tank and then air pressue/matching water height keeps the levels even and the small tank is connected to the big system.

Removing the U-tube would allow me to QT anything separate, although I could not medicate if I wanted to reconnect the systems later. This tank was mostly made for staging frags as I buy them.

Here you can see that the 55 is now mostly empty because it has all been transferred in to the big tank. I have put some sand/rock and macro algae in the refugium. I put a aluminum work reflector and a standard CF light bulb with a 5400K rating over the fuge. I got all this stuff at Walmart for about $15.

 

[aztbs]

As for the electrical side, Bill installed an electrical subpanel dedicated just for the tank. It has 4 breakers, and each one has its own GFI outlet. Here is the beginnings of turning the electrical mess in to electrical order.

Close up, here is the mostly finished "control panel". The ice cap ballasts are mounted at the top next to the electrical box. The small blue thing underneath is the power supply for all of the fans.
Then there are two powerstrips for a bunch of plugs. The bottom strip has all of the lights on X10 controllers and that alarm clock thing is the timer that controls them all.
Then there are the handy flashlight holders.

Backing up, there is another long powerstrip underneath that is most of the plugs from the sump. The big blue barrel is my top-off reservoir. I am able to fill it with 30 gallons of kalkwasser which lasts about a week - 10 days depending on ambient temp and humidity. On top of the barrel is a peristaltic pump (kangaroo) that drips the kalk in to the tank to match the evap rate. It runs 24x7 and the drip rate needs to be occasionally adjusted.

Back up even further and here is a shot of the room:

 

[aztbs]

05/03/2006

Here's a sump shot with plumbing. The return comes straight out of the mag 12 and up into the bottom of the tank. You couldn't get much simpler. There is a ball valve and a union to be able to take the pump out for cleaning. The other hole in the tank has a bulkhead and a ball valve/union but I have never used it. It is capped and the ball valve is closed.
I added a clip on fan in the sump to help keep the temperature of the tank down.

Here is the ASM G4-X in action. I put a foam pad from an old cannister filter around the skimmer pipe to help reduce the splashing noise. I worked well and got rinsed whenever I dumped the skimmer.

This is a huge collection cup full of stink!

05/07/2006

The 55 is gone gone gone. It is strange to have an empty wall there.

 

[aztbs]

I will return to continue the saga tomorrow. I have to dig up/organize some more pictures.